So... that Mark. I think I've worked it out. :)

[elisi]

(Karen Gillan in my icon is doing a Mark impression...)

First of all, then many thanks go to gabrielleabelle for suggesting that Mark is so... OTT in his Buffy reviews because he expects angst. Because suddenly he was easy to diagnose. Basically he suffers from pre-Traumatic Joss Syndrome.

His tagline is 'You're Not Prepared', but this actually misleading. I don't mean that he's spoiled, but he is prepared. Here are my approximations of his mindset for various things:

Buffy:
'OH NOES IT'S JOSS AND HE LOVES TO STAB PEOPLE IN THE BACK WHEN THEY FEEL HAPPY! EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE PERPETUAL HEARTBREAK, ANYONE COULD DIE AT ANYTIME! WILL IT BE THIS EPISODE THAT BREAKS ME FOR GOOD? OR THIS ONE? OR THIS ONE? OR...'

Lord of the Rings:
'OMG EVERYTHING IS EPIC AND EVERYTHING IS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL FANTASY THAT COMES AFTER AND HOW SHALL I DEAL???'

Moffat Who:
'EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE CLEVER AND COMPLICATED OH NOES WHAT-IS-GOING-ON-I-CAN'T-WORK-IT-OUT-HELP!!!!'

Twilight:
'THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE RUBBISH AND TERRIBLE - AAAAAAAH! IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN I THOUGHT! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? AND IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE...'

Comments

[diamondtook862.livejournal.com]

I think you might be absolutely right. It's like he thinks things are going to be outrageous, so he responds as if they are, when in fact the emotionally powerful/traumatic stuff on the show only happens rarely, which is why it packs so big a punch. Getting angsty about the breakups of Willow and Xander instead of enjoying the hilarity of Lovers Walk feels like it misses the point. Both matter. This is not unexpected, nor is it tragic. It's tragicomedy, and there is so so much more to come. The Mayor isn't revolutionary or creepy at all. He's just lovable. And evil. Which is hard to reconcile. Lovers Walk is brilliant and wonderful, but it's no Becoming II, or even Prom.

I wish he'd speak more about his thoughts than his feelings. But maybe those are just my own feelings. ;)

[elisi]

I think you might be absolutely right. It's like he thinks things are going to be outrageous, so he responds as if they are, when in fact the emotionally powerful/traumatic stuff on the show only happens rarely, which is why it packs so big a punch.
*nods* But he's constantly curled up in a ball...

Getting angsty about the breakups of Willow and Xander instead of enjoying the hilarity of Lovers Walk feels like it misses the point.
IKR? They're all still alive, to begin with.

This is not unexpected, nor is it tragic. It's tragicomedy, and there is so so much more to come. The Mayor isn't revolutionary or creepy at all. He's just lovable. And evil. Which is hard to reconcile. Lovers Walk is brilliant and wonderful, but it's no Becoming II, or even Prom.
Soon enough both Cordy and Oz will be off anyway, so he should save his tears for then. (Who are we kidding, he's going to ship Willow/Tara so hard he'll be in danger of breaking things.)

I wish he'd speak more about his thoughts than his feelings. But maybe those are just my own feelings. ;)
Like I've said, I can't read his Doctor Who reviews at all. I can cope with the feeeeeelings when it comes to Buffy, because Joss does manipulte the audience a lot, but with DW, which is allllll metaphors, I can't cope with someone who can't look beyond the 'FEELS'...